Borden Light Marina plans expansion following land purchase

FALL RIVER — Boats on stands occupy the space that pipes and pumps once filled. A parking lot with a waterview replaced a raft of industrial oil storage tanks.

Borden Light Marina is expanding. It purchased the land next door at 52 Ferry St., for $750,000.

What will happen with the land is still up in the air. What is certain is that the city’s waterfront is a good investment, according to Michael Lund, the marina owner.

“I see a future here. I really do,” Lund said. “We were looking to expand. We looked in other areas. We looked in Fairhaven and in Rhode Island.

“But, in the end, transforming this property, it will help the whole neighborhood. It will make the marina look better. It will make the Toboggan look better. And it starts to connect the dots. This whole waterfront is coming together now.”

Lund owns the Borden Light Marina, a 300-slip operation that has a bar on the end of the dock, the Tipsy Seagull. Lund also owns a complex across Ferry Street that holds his restaurant, the Tipsy Toboggan, as well as a boat repair business and a marine consignment shop.

Northeast Product occupied the 2.7-acre site at 52 Ferry St. for years, bringing in oil and converting it into specialty lubricants for sewing machines and mill equipment.

The company sold the land and buildings in May to 52 Ferry LLC, a Delaware corporation which is registered to A Registered Agent Inc, Dover, Delaware.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Lund said shortly after the sale. “I was trying to stay under the radar until I decide what I’m going to do.”

“I’m working with Bill Starck,” Lund said this week. Starck is the president of Starck Architects Inc., 126 Cove St. “This will be marine related businesses and executive office space. There will be a restaurant with a rooftop bar, eventually.

“But really, right now, we are focusing on improving the aesthetics and landscaping and fixing up the building.”

Northeast Products operated in a warehouse style building that is clad in corrugated metal painted a faded blue.

That building will be kept but renovated to make it more attractive, Lund said. The oil tanks are removed and the land they occupied is covered with crushed stone. The 6-foot concrete wall that runs along Ferry Street to the corner of Almond Street should be removed this week, Lund said.

“We looked at properties outside the city, but we really feel this property, and the waterfront in the city, has a lot of potential.

“The nucleus of the city’s waterfront is right here. It will be a mixed port with commercial, recreational and cultural offerings. It is right at the bottom of the highway ramp. We don’t need the state or anyone else. We have all the ingredients right here.

“If you come off the highway and park at the Gates to the City, look at all the places you can walk to.” He listed attractions starting with the boardwalk at Heritage State Park and including the Cove Restaurant, Battleship Cove, the carousel, The Narrows and several restaurants and bars.

“If you are hungry, you can walk up Columbia Street for dinner at Sagres,” he said.

The immediate plan is to make the property more attractive to people passing by, Lund said.

“We are still working on our plans,” he said. “In the meantime, we’ll offer marine services here and we’ll offer parking on the waterfront.